Can you guess what I’ve been playing the living shit out of this last week? Go ahead. Guess. I might just surprise you.
Storytelling is at the heart of Final Fantasy. Back when video game stories were simple, this series was known for blazing narrative trails! It’s safe to say that we wouldn’t have the narrative driven landscape of gaming we have today without this series.
And what would a story be without it’s main characters. Of which Final Fantasy has plenty of great heroes to choose from! Between all sixteen mainline entries – and the many, many, many spin-offs and sequels, we have no shortage of party members to choose from.
So, for the sake of narrowing down the pool, we’ll be sticking to main characters. Otherwise, we’d be here all day.
But first, some honorary mentions!
Honestly, the only reason I’m not including any of them is for time. And if I did include the XV crew, it would have to be all of them, because as individual characters, they’re really not that strong.
Alright, now, on with the show!
Cloud (VII)
Not the most original place to start, but if you know me, you should have expected this.
When I first played Final Fantasy VII, I really didn’t like Cloud. He was a try hard edgelord trying to be a badass. Little did I know that that was the whole point; Cloud is trying to be cool. Just one problem: his idea of cool is Zack, who is also a massive dork. That, and Sephiroth, which… yeeeeeeaaaaahhh.
His arc in the original game is incredibly compelling! His identity crisis, spurned on by his losses, is one of the best stories in any video game! Cloud transforms completely by the end of the game!
Plus, I’ll never get over the game’s opening little trick. Cloud is an unreliable narrator, so the very first thing he tells us of himself is a lie. What is he first called? Ex-SOLDIER. Absolutely brilliant.
Also, he looks like a Super Saiyan, and that’s an automatic win.
Terra (VI)
It was a coin toss between her and Celes. Just know, Terra only won because she was the first one you meet in the game.
Jokes aside, Terra is a phenomenal protagonist. Her journey of self-discovery is surprisingly mature and introspective for a SNES game. Especially in the second half, when she gives up the fight to become a mother to some orphans. How many games can you think of where the main character just retires from being the main character?!
Not to mention that she’s also unique on a gameplay front. At the beginning of the game, she’s the only one who can use magic, a fact that the other party members take note of. Then, later on, she gets a cool magic beast mode transformation! In terms of sheer fun, Terra is among the top of FF heroes!
That, and she’s the only FF hero that you could actually call ‘Mommy.’ Although if you did, she’d probably tell you to go clean your room.
Cecil (IV)
If there are two things this series excels at, it’s introspection and redemption.
Cecil paved the way for Final Fantasy as a franchise in many ways. His redemption story is surprisingly well fleshed out and executed, given how early this is in the series. IV was Square’s first real attempt at a cinematic story, and they knocked it out of the park with Cecil.
Even if I still prefer Dark Knight Cecil over Paladin Cecil. But even the fact that he changed classes is really cool! It takes a gameplay mechanic of the series and makes it an important beat in the story! Most games today don’t even do that!
He even establishes the ‘FF heroes with complicated backstories’ trope that would become core to the franchise. Dude’s family tree is straight out of Star Wars. With just as much child murder! But honestly, for a story so early in the series’ development, it works better than you might think. It makes Cecil’s redemption even more satisfying, considering his grim family history. His story works really well!
Just… pretend Final Fantasy IV: After Years doesn’t exist. Don’t worry. It’s not hard.
Clive (XVI)
Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything. I’d never forgive myself if I did.
Clive wormed his way into my heart almost immediately upon my starting XVI. He has a shocking amount of depth and complexity, more than this series has seen in a long while. We follow his story throughout just about his whole life, and each chapter brings something wholly new to the character!
While his story is every bit as grand and insane as any other FF hero, Clive feels grounded in a way that few others do. From how he talks to how he acts, whether he’s being serious or having a rare moment of levity, he just feels so… human. He’s relatable and compelling practically from the start, and he only becomes more so as the story progresses.
A good chunk of the credit goes to his voice actor, Ben Starr (I’m sure Yuya Uchida is amazing, but I played the game in English). Most of the time, his voice is deep and rough, like most dark fantasy protagonists. But when his emotions get to him and he cracks, his voice completely changes. It’s hard not to feel sad when Clive begins to sob, and it’s impossible not to grin when he has a rare moment of pure happiness. All of which was carried by Starr’s incredible performance.
Honestly, I could gush for hours about how cool Clive is. But to do that, I’d have to start diving into more about Final Fantasy XVI itself. And I can’t do that.
Not until tomorrow. So I’ll see y’all then!
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